India is eager to invest in Zimbabwe’s diamond sector, says Venkatesan Ashok, New Delhi’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, according to a report in Zimbabwe’s Herald newspaper.

The report comes as it emerges that Indian diamond traders purchased the majority of diamonds from Zimbabwe's recent auction of some 900,000 carats of rough diamonds harvested from the Marange fields.

According to IDEX Online, as much as $60 million worth of gems – some 83% of the tender which fetched nearly $72 million, was bought by the Indian diamond industry.

According to Zimbabwean government officials buyers from Israel, Lebanon and Russia also took part in the diamond auction.

Indian market leaders told IDEX Online that they ‘look forward to future imports from Zimbabwe’, although they also expressed concern that a flood of goods from diamond-rich Zimbabwe will erode diamonds prices.

"We have been good friends for generations, even in bad times, and India will continue to assist Zimbabwe in its economic turnaround. India is prepared to maintain its historically close bilateral relations with Zimbabwe and further consolidate them in order to assist the country’s capacity building efforts to improve its economy and technology," says Venkatesan Ashok, explaining that India’s large diamond polishing industry will be beneficial to Zimbabwe’s diamond industry.